Galley comes together

Boat refit nears completion.

January 2016

I have been pressing on with the boat refit for the last three months, squeezing in hours whenever time permits. One of the big benefits of mooring in Aldridge is that the boat is only 5 minutes from home so no long commute to the canal and back again.

As usual with fitting out a boat, nothing fits first time. At almost every stage I build it, offer it up, dismantle, adjust and only then fit it in! Its a long slow process but finally the end is in sight.

The core of the kitchen is only two base units with everything else being built from them on a bespoke basis. Because we are a bit taller than average, the work surface is about 6cm higher that it used to be. This 6 cm is important not just for our comfort but also it allows us to use deeper sinks with just enough height difference to flow down to the skin fitting. Not satisfied with one sink we opted for two, using the second sink in lieu of a draining board. The problem with the use of a conventional sink is making the waste water pipe reduce to the 1 inch outlet pipe. My challenge was assisted by a gas fitter friend who offered an array of conversion fittings for both waste and fresh water. A happy evening was spent assembling the bits and the end result was miraculously leak free!

While I was planning the kitchen we decided to include a filter unit purchased at last year's Crick Boat Show. Hopefully this will eliminate the need to rely on bottled water.

The saloon has been reconfigured onto an L shaped settee under which a 35L freezer has been installed ready to offer a store for fruit. The challenge will be to power it even with it's modest 21 amp hour consumption per day. I have plans to extend the battery bank supplemented with solar panels, but that phase is still in the future, not that there is any need for it in the depths of winter.

Another feature of the saloon is the back of the cross seat. As well as a raked seat back it is made of oak work surface and lifts up to make a huge U shaped galley - just right for preserve making.

The floor has also had the make over treatment. with 18mm oak planks laid on top of the 18mm ply which was beneath the old lino. We decided to continue the oak floor all the way back through the shower room, and very nice it looks too.

The project is to be rounded off with new co-ordinated seat cushions and curtains which have been ordered from Elite Furnishings in Tamworth. Delivery is scheduled for three weeks which will bring the whole project together.

All this effort has been driven by a pressing need at home. As well as the boat refit we are having a large extension which will mean no kitchen on two weeks. But that's another story...